The Warmth of a Hobbit's Hands
by Space Mortician
Summary: To put an end to his grandfather's curse, Thorin must learn to love, but doesn't know how. He isn't exactly what you call "romantic." Fortunately, his hope lies (literally) in the hands of a simple hobbit. (Written for and Original Idea By tumblr-user radiorcrist) [ON PERMANENT HIATUS- i got writer's block and have no clue how to continue this, sorry!]
1. Chapter 1

_It all started in Erebor, under the rule of Thrór, the King Under the Mountain. All that are familiar with him also know what his greatest weakness was._

_Gold._

_As King of Erebor, Thrór would stop at nothing to bleed the mountain dry of all its gold, but there is also another part in which only the sons of Thrór knew about…_

_~(x)~_

_Thrór was in his bedchambers when a bright light appeared before his bedside. A wispy voice called him, and started to speak, "Thrór, King of Erebor, your greed has grown too great. You no longer love others, only your gold. Because of this, you are no longer fit to rule. You cannot go unpunished any longer." The King did not know what to make of this encounter and suddenly feared for what might happen to him. The small ball of light then started to take form, its body slender and as tall as an elf, then held out a long arm towards Thrór. He fell to the floor, gripping his chest and screaming in pain. In the cavity of his chest, he felt as if dragon's claws were going to burst through him. _

_As the pain subsided, and the King looked up, his eyes widened as they lay upon a glowing, white jewel. In it, blue light swirled in it, like stars travelling under the night sky. "Thrór, King of Durin's Folk," the Being of Light called, "I place this curse upon you and all of your kin. It may only be lifted once you have learned to love another more than you love your riches, but it is not as simple as it seems. You must prove yourself by a selfless act of love, one that rings true intentions. This also means that you cannot tell anyone about your curse or ask for help, it must be done on your own." The Being of Light lifted up the hand that held the glowing gem, "This jewel I hold represents your heart. As you can see, it is a form that tempts you most. Even now, I can feel that you desire this jewel; so much that you would sacrifice your own kin." _

"_This Heart may only be yours once you had proven yourself. Heed my warning, should you acquire this Heart prematurely, only despair would come to you." With a large sweep of its arm, the Being threw the Heart deep within the bowels of the mountain. Thrór scrambled towards where the Heart disappeared through the floors of the chambers, but it had already gone. He looked up at the Being of Light and demanded that he brought it back. The Spectre pointed at the King and continued with an angry roar, "Thrór, should you ever put your riches first, then you will die at the hands of the Pale Orc and your curse will be passed down until it has been fulfilled."_

_The White Being's body of light then grew brighter, engulfing the entirety of the chamber. Then, it vanished._

-1-

Bilbo felt exhausted. He had been running after rowdy dwarves all night and all the singing and the yelling was giving him a terrible headache. His pantry was barren, food had scattered all over the floor, not to mention all of the tracks of mud on his carpets; it would take him weeks to get everything back in order.

After the (rather aggravated) pounding at the door, all the dwarves ran to the door after Gandalf. Whomever this dwarf was, his arrival had been highly anticipated. For a second or two, Bilbo just stood there in his kitchen, rubbing his head with two fingers. The last thing Bilbo needed right now was another dwarf.

The dwarves had completely blocked both ways to get to the door, so Bilbo could only listen to what was happening. He saw the wizard answer the door. "Gandalf," was all Bilbo newly-arrived dwarf's voice was low and sounded as if he was familiar with Gandalf more than the other dwarves were. Bilbo heard the owner of the voice step in and continued, "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way. Twice." The dwarf did not sound angry with Gandalf, despite all the trouble he had to go through.

Bilbo saw the dwarf take off his cloak and add, "Wouldn't have found it at all if had it not been for the mark at the door." Once Bilbo caught heard of that he gently pushed Dwalin out of the way to inspect his door, but Gandalf was already closing it. "There is no mark on that door, " Bilbo denied, "It was painted about a week ago!"

Gandalf closed the door and reassured Bilbo, "There is a mark, I put it there." Bilbo huffed a little under his breath, not only had the wizard brought a bunch of unwelcome dwarves to his home but he marked his newly painted door. Bilbo would have to vent out his frustrations to Gandalf again later. However, as soon as he caught sight of the newly arrived dwarf, all frustrated feelings subsided.

"Bilbo Baggins," Gandalf addressed him with a hand gesture, "I would like to introduce the leader of our Company, Thorin Oakenshield." Thorin had a distinguished air about him, as if he was royalty. Although, Bilbo seeing the way he dressed, he wouldn't be surprised. Thorin had a thick, black mane with streaks of silver here and there, but his beard was shorter than the other dwarves. If he was willing to admit it to himself, he could confess that he did look very handsome. Overall, he looked very respectable, and Bilbo was ready to give him that respect.

As soon as Thorin sees Bilbo, he meets his eyes and does not look away for one second, even when he handed his cloak to Kili. Bilbo could swear, looking back on their meeting, that his eyes grew a little wider and his mouth was slightly agape. Thorin walked up to Bilbo, hands in front of him, and said, "So, this is the hobbit." When he addressed him, Bilbo caught a hint of a smirk before Thorin walked past him.

Bilbo moved out of the way, breaking the trance, and suddenly became confused. Why had Thorin addressed him as "the hobbit" and not his actual name? Why was Thorin staring him down like he wanted to see straight into his soul? Thorin spoke again, "Tell me, Mister Baggins, have you done much fighting?" The question had caught Bilbo off guard. Fighting?

"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked, but Thorin did not repeat himself. Instead, he just continued, "Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?" Thorin had gone full circle around the hobbit, and was facing him again. His Tookish side taking over, he replied with a playful smile, "Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know." Then, Bilbo realized what he had just said. 'Conkers? Really?' he thought to himself. "But, um, I fail to see why that's..relevant."

While he was being informed by Bilbo's "experience," an amused expression had appeared on Thorin's face, "Thought as much." Bilbo's smile fell, and Thorin turned to the other dwarves, "Looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin raised an eyebrow and smirked mockingly at Bilbo.

Thorin headed with the other dwarves to the dining room to give Thorin supper, but neither Bilbo nor Gandalf followed them. Bilbo couldn't even move, all he could do was stare at Thorin's back with a hurt hobbit was not as offended by Thorin's "grocer" comment, but at the fact that he had been dismissed so quickly. He had been cast aside as if he were a mere hobbitling. Royalty or not, Bilbo thought, all respect or Thorin Oakenshield had vanished into thin air.

_**Thanks for reading the first chapter! Let me know if there's anything confusing or if I should fix stuff. Next chapter might take a while, so look out for it!**_


	2. Chapter 2

-2-

After Thorin's arrival, Gandalf pulled out from his robes an ancient-looking map and an iron key, both of which had belonged to Thorin's grandfather.

Bilbo retrieved a lantern for Thorin to look over the contents of the map. "The Lonely Mountain," Bilbo read aloud the name at the top. As Gandalf explained the contents of the document, the hobbit was looking it over himself. Unfortunately, the written message to the left of the map was written in an ancient dwarvish language; only a few had the skill to read it, obviously he was not one of them.

"Our answer lies somewhere in this map," Gandalf was addressing the other dwarves at the dining-room table, "And I do not possess the skill to find it-" Here Gandalf paused as he glances around at the dwarves expressions, "-but there are others in Middle Earth who can. The task in mind requires a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage." As the last word left his mouth, Gandalf turned his gaze to Bilbo. The wizard continued, "But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar," The dwarf, to Bilbos knowledge, named Nori interjected.

Humming I agreement Bilbo spoke out to the others, "And a good one, too. An expert I'd imagine." From what Gandalf had just described, their quest was going to be a difficult one. Maybe there will be one looking for work in Bree-

"And are you?"

Caught off guard, Bilbo turned to the dwarf who was gazing at him. He checked behind himself just in case there was another bloke besides him. With no one else but him standing there Bilbo became very confused fairly quickly. "Am I what?" he asked. "He says he's an expert!" the same dwarf exclaims. All the other dwarves laugh in glee.

Bilbo panicked at the miscommunication, he thought that he had to subdue the situation before it went too far. "Me? No-no-no-no-no!" Bilbo firmly asserted, "I'm not a burglar! I've never stolen a thing in my life!"

Balin turned his piercing stare onto Gandalf and admitted his true thought. "I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Master Baggins. He's hardly burglar material."

"Aye," Dwalin adds, "The wild is no place for gentlefolk." Bilbo nodded and lifted his hands in apologetic surrender. He didn't know who gave them the idea that he was a burglar, but he had successfully (or so he thought) put that idea to rest. Gradually, all the dwarves started to yell and argue amongst themselves; things started to get out of hand quickly.

Suddenly, Gandalf stood up as much as he was able within the hobbit hole. "Enough!" His voice shook all the contents of the dining room and the candle-light dimmed, "If I say that Baggins is a burglar then a burglar he is!"

Before Bilbo had the chance to correct Gandalf wrong assumption of the gentle-hobbit, the light returned and the wizard spoke calmly once more. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet, they can pass unseen by most if they choose."

Bilbo just stood there mouth gaping open at Gandalf, unable to say a word. He has never heard of such a talent and he himself was a hobbit! He thought about interrupting, but after seeing Gandalf so angry, Bilbo thought it best not to say anything.

"... And while the dragon is accustomed to the scent of dwarf," the wizard continued, "the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him." Gandalf turns toward Thorin, "You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen Master Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know and himself." He looks at Bilbo knowingly and then back at Thorin, "You must trust me on this."

'Well, this is absolutely great,' Bilbo thought. His only hope now was that Thorin wouldn't believe all the hogwash of Bilbo being of use, the last chance of getting out of this insane adventure. Bilbo's hopes were crushed when Thorin gave in, "Very well. We'll do it your way. Give him the contract." All the dwarves cheered again.

"Please," Bilbo squeaked, but he knew that it was no use, there was no escaping it now. Balin pulled out a folded piece of parchment from his tunic and held it out towards Bilbo. He informed him of its contents, "It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo was about to ask the elder dwarf to explain further, but Thorin took the contract and slapped it against the hobbit's chest.

Bilbo turns away from the group as he unfolds the contract (and groans a little after seeing how long it was). He didn't notice Thorin studying him carefully as he looks it over.

Fortunately, it was written in Westron and not in Khuzdûl, which made it easier for poor Bilbo. "...cash on delivery up to a fourteenth of profit if any…(makes sense)," he read aloud.

Bilbo saw some of the things that Balin had mentioned, and was fine up until he got to an unnerving section. "If in any event," the hobbit continued reading, "the company shall not be responsible for injuries inflicted but not limited to…" as he looked at the list, Bilbo began to feel uneasy.

"...lacerations." Bilbo lifted the flap and as he read every item, he could feel that he was getting light-headed. He continued reading the list, "...evisceration…*incineration*?" Bilbo looked at the dwarves in disbelief, and silently demanded an explanation.

Bofur was glad to help, "Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." The hobbit just looked away.

"You alright laddie?" Balin asked, concerned. The more the idea sank in, the possibility of death became very apparent for Bilbo. Of course he wasn't foolish, he knows the full extent of a dragon's ability to wipe out an entire village in a matter of minutes, he just hadn't really thought about it until he was going to face an actual one.

Bilbo leaned on his knees and let out a hasty breath and replied to Balin, "Feeling a bit faint."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bofur get from his chair and tell Bilbo, "Think furnace-with wings!"

He could feel his chest getting tighter, so Bilbo took more breaths to reduce the anxiety. Bofur decided to go even further, "Flashing light, searing pain, then-*poof*- you're a pile of ash!"

Bilbo stood up a little straighter, took a few more short breaths, and then he felt...fine. 'Ha!' he thought, 'Take that Tho-"

He dropped to the ground.

~(x)~

After Bilbo recovered, all he wanted to have a cup of tea and sit in his favorite chair. Obviously, all this excitement (not to mention the possibility of getting burnt to a crisp by a dragon) was too much for him. Maybe this time Gandalf would realize the big mistake he made to involve Bilbo in all of this mess.

"I'm fine, I just need to sit down quietly for a minute," Bilbo said weakly, but Gandalf wouldn't have any of it. He had used many excuses for Bilbo to assist them, how his mother would not want him to live like the other hobbits and that the Old Took (his great-great-great-great -grandfather) would have taken this opportunity without a second thought, but Bilbo made up his mind. He chose life, thank you very much.

Bilbo left it at that. To avoid any more pleading from either Gandalf or the dwarves, he announced to the company that he was going to bed. Honestly, he was glad to have finally get some rest after that stressful day.

Bilbo changed into his bedclothes sat down on the foot of his bed. He thought of going back out to make sure the dwarves would be comfortable for the night, but he was very tired from yelling and Yavanna knows if they had already distributed the company among the rooms themselves.

Then, he heard a sound coming from the other side of the took him a moment to realize that it was the dwarves, humming in perfect harmony. The hobbit scowled and thought, 'Haven't they had enough singing?' Then Thorin, his voice the sound of thunder rolling in the distance, began to sing:

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and cavern old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To seek the pale enchanted gold_

**_The dwarves of yore made mighty spells_**

**_While hammers fell like ringing bells  
In places deep, where dark things sleep,_**

**_In hollow halls beneath the fells..._**

With every dwarf that joined Thorin, Bilbo became more enchanted with the hollow sorrow of the song. As his mind absorbed every lyric, he felt the dwarves' passion,he thought about the Shire engulfed in dragon-fire and shuddered. His Tookish-side pulling to go on the quest right then and there, it wanted to run into the forest and never look back. The feeling subsided when the song ended.

The silence that followed afterwards was uncomfortable, but the sound of the dwarves' boots served to lull Bilbo. He heard the last echoes of stomping feet wandering into the guest room near his; just before he drifted to sleep, Thorin's singing gently spilled into his room.

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

_We must away ere break of day_

_To find our long-forgotten gold…_

_Bilbo was lying down on a polished stone floor. He stood up to get away from the extremely cold floor and saw that he was surrounded by a hall completely made out of emerald colored stone._

_As he looked around, taking in the grand architecture, Bilbo saw that he stood at the base of a mountain of pure gold. Coins made up most of the horde, but Bilbo could see jewel-encrusted filled to their brims with diamonds and other various gems the size of his two fists. A flash of light caught his eye, a few feet in front of him on a bed of gold was a gleaming gem. Bilbo walked over to retrieve the mysterious gem. The gorgeous treasure contained twinkling hints of blue. Turning it over in his hands, Bilbo mesmerizingly brushed his fingers against the smooth surface. _

_A thundering groan startled Bilbo out of his fantasy. He was so entranced by the stone that he hadn't noticed the mass of armour a couple of feet away from him._

_Bilbo could see that it was a dwarf from his mess of a beard. He was clad entirely in golden-colored armor, from the crown on his head to his heavy boots. The dwarf's wrists donned thick chains that were attached to the ground, worn away from years of pulling and struggling. The chains clinked together as he lifted himself up off the ground with his elbows, his arms were quivering under his weight. The dwarf looked up at Bilbo._

_It was Thorin._

_**HOLY CRAP So sorry the second chapter took so long, I was grounded literally the day after I posted the first chapter so I couldn't post it for a REALLY long time. But, as you can see, I am back and I'm already working on the third chapter. Just a little warning, I'm going to be bringing in some stuff from the book (Like the original Misty Mountains song) and I'm not planning to follow the movies entirely. Anyway, leave reviews if you like. See you in the next chapter!**_


	3. Chapter 3

-3-

Bilbo woke as if it were any other day, except for the weird feeling in the back of his mind and, oddly, couldn't shake the thoughts of dragon fire away. He noticed that he was still in the clothes he wore to dinner, minus the robe that had been thrown over a chair in his room.

When he finally recollected the insanity that had happened yesterday, Bilbo jolted upright in his bed. He listened carefully, expecting the dwarves to make a loud ruckus over breakfast (and possibly making more of a mess), but there was nothing. There was only silence, as if everything that had happened yesterday was a strange, lucid dream and Bilbo was home alone as always. For some reason, he felt a pang of sadness at the thought of none of the events of yesterday being real, but immediately pushed it away. No doubt, he would be extremely relieved if that had indeed happened.

Cautiously, Bilbo made his way through the halls of his hole. All of his guest rooms were left exactly as he saw them before the dwarves had slept the night. The kitchen, dining room, and (very unfortunately) pantry were all empty as well, making Bilbo even more confused. 'Where could they have possibly gone?' he thought. Going by the state of the pantry, there was no possibility that last night was all a dream-but then what happened to the dwarves?

Bilbo quietly entered his sitting room, checking for any sign that either Gandalf or any of the dwarves had left a note. Then, Bilbo toyed with the possibility that maybe Gandalf and Thorin heeded his refusal and just left without another word. The thought did not last long when he found two pieces of parchment on the table next to his fireside chair. One was folded and thick—which he recognized as the contract—and the other was a note (of course, written on his own stationary).

The note said that the band of dwarves (referred to as "the Company") thanked him for his hospitality and, not wanting to disturb him, went ahead to make preparations for the long journey. It also said that they would be grateful if he would sign the contract after reviewing the terms, and would meet him at an Inn near Bywater at 11 am. Bilbo checked the clock above the fireplace—9:45. Maybe if he skipped second breakfast (he slept in for first breakfast) and gathered just the essentials in his pack, he could make it to Bywater in t—

He immediately stopped the thought in its tracks. Bilbo reconsidered exactly what he was doing before he ran off into the blue with thirteen dwarves and a wizard (all of whom he doesn't know in the slightest), but then he remembered all his younger-self's dreams of running off to find elves in the woods, to do something other than sit around in the Shire. That was before his parents died. After that he decided that the only thing to do to preserve their memory was keeping the smial from anyone who wasn't a Baggins (especially from the Sackville-Bagginses). Yes, Bilbo absolutely could not go—he needed to protect this place.

Then Bilbo considered what Gandalf had said about his mother. There was no doubt that his mother would have encouraged him to go as she did when he was younger. Belladonna might go as far as scold him for being holed up for so long. He glanced at her portrait over the fireplace and can almost see her eyes shining, pushing him to go.

Bilbo grabbed the nearest pen.

Bilbo slammed his door shut in haste, trying to stick his note on it as best as he could (for Hamfast Gamgee, saying in rushed handwriting that he was going to be gone for a long time and asked him to look after his garden—and to make sure Lobelia doesn't go snooping around Bag End). And as fast as his fat hobbit feet could, sprinted down the hill.

**_WOW What a hiatus. Almost two fuckin' years ago first posted this and I haven't even looked at it until now. Guess I have some explaining to do..._**

**_First of all, I want to apologize. Letting this gem of an idea go for so long unfinished feels so wrong to me, but there was a reason I was gone. I had self-doubt. I thought my writing was never going to get better or be as good as some of my favorite fanfic writers. I also had a small sliver of shame as well. I was a little embarrassed being a fanfic writer but then I realized that some of the best fandom contributions were through fanfiction. I saw that people were still liking and following this and I decided I had to do you guys right. I am going to finish this. I definitely do not know how long its going to take but screw it, its now or never._**

**_Thanks to those of you who stuck around. I just found this chapter in my drive and I decided to publish it as it is so, again, sorry if there are underdeveloped parts, typos, or that its just plain too short. I'll see you in the next chapter!_**


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